How to paint wooden crates??

[OliveDrab]

As the subject states, what is the secret to paint wooden crates and actually have them look like wood? I have yet to come up with a method that looks good to me.

This is the latest attempt and to be honest they don't look like "wood" to me, they look like...resin crates with paint on them
I'm stumped as to what to try next
The crates shown are base coated in Tamiya Buff (crate on left) and Deck Tan (middle and right crate). Next a mid brown wash was applied to all crates and allowed to set up for about 15 minutes. Then a second wash was mottled onto the crates, a light olive color to the left and middle crates, and a gray color to the crate on the right.



Short of scratch-building crates using real wood, any suggestions/favorite methods/products/tricks for painting "wood"?

[PrivateMansoor]

I have used Tamiya Deck tan base coat followed by Tamiya clear orange followed by matte coat followed by a wash... of your choice.

these 1/72 crates were done using this method

[Augustus]

Scrape them a little with scalpel blade to make like wood grain, then after painting add a darker brown wash to seep into the scrapes.

But what I found good, and totally by accident, was after painting them get a cotton bud dipped in thinner and gently rub the surface. This will add a used and slightly distressed look.

[Augustus]

Also, just looking at your crates above, the grain seems too deep and wide so when you add the wash it seems very stark.

[OliveDrab]

Thanks for the suggestions, some good ideas to try out

[GangsterNo1]

This is a technique I got from a Vallejo guide and I think it works well. It's good for natural wood where there are planks of different shades such as crates, fences, shields, etc.

Creating grain texture detail can be done on styrene and resin using a small saw blade dragged across the surfaced and moved side to side to create lines that aren't dead straight. If you use balsa or other wood to scratchbuild then this also works just dont press too hard.

1. After priming, base coat individual planks in different shades of brown from light to dark. Make it random and have some of the same tone next to eachother, some next to very different tones, etc. The more planks you have the more tones, but for crates you can get away with one light and one dark.
2. First wash. Mix 3 washes, one light, one medium and one dark tone. Paint these over base coats. Light tone over light base and dark over dark base, then do some randoms with the medium. You're looking for tonal variation so experiment here. I've had success with doing patches instead of whole planks for instance.
3. Second wash. Same as step 2 but vary which wash tones are placed over the existing colours. Again you are trying to create more variation.
4. Optional. If you haven't got any grain texture on the model, then use dark and light paint lines to create the impressions of woodgrain. Use a similar approach to highlights and lowlights on uniforms.
5. If you do have grain texture then use a very dark wash to bring it out.

[Augustus]

This is a technique I got from a Vallejo guide and I think it works well. It's good for natural wood where there are planks of different shades such as crates, fences, shields, etc.

Creating grain texture detail can be done on styrene and resin using a small saw blade dragged across the surfaced and moved side to side to create lines that aren't dead straight. If you use balsa or other wood to scratchbuild then this also works just dont press too hard.

1. After priming, base coat individual planks in different shades of brown from light to dark. Make it random and have some of the same tone next to eachother, some next to very different tones, etc. The more planks you have the more tones, but for crates you can get away with one light and one dark.
2. First wash. Mix 3 washes, one light, one medium and one dark tone. Paint these over base coats. Light tone over light base and dark over dark base, then do some randoms with the medium. You're looking for tonal variation so experiment here. I've had success with doing patches instead of whole planks for instance.
3. Second wash. Same as step 2 but vary which wash tones are placed over the existing colours. Again you are trying to create more variation.
4. Optional. If you haven't got any grain texture on the model, then use dark and light paint lines to create the impressions of woodgrain. Use a similar approach to highlights and lowlights on uniforms.
5. If you do have grain texture then use a very dark wash to bring it out.

would defo have to go along with these suggestions if those crates are anything to go by. Very realistic.

[Vleugelmoer]

As military crates are mostly made of pine wood wich is quite lite colored I tend to stick to the wood colores from the Vallejo Panzer Ace line for the basic color. After that is on and dry I use Pigments and a Oil Dot Filter with Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna to bring out the detail. Like Augustus mentioned scratching in some lighter wood grain with a hobby knife or micro saw ads to the overall effect.

As always happy modeling and keep sticking styrene.

Paul J

[OliveDrab]

Thanks guys, more good ideas